Most Cherished Treasure
by Sage Dans Les Lys
Summary: She meant so much more to him than his muffler. She was what fueled him to grow stronger. She was what made him stand a little straight. She was his most precious treasure. *cheesy summary is cheesy*
1. Chapter 1

**~Most Cherished Treasure~**

**Chapter 1**

"I'm sorry Lucy, but I have a family to feed. You understand?"

Lucy nodded and stuck out her hand. "I understand. Sorry for troubling you with my late payments." The elderly lady shook her head and took the offered hand. Waving goodbye, Lucy started to walk away with a heavy heart.

She couldn't believe it- she finally got evicted from her apartment because she couldn't get over her tardiness when it came to paying rent. At least the landlady, an aging grandmother of three and a widow, was polite about it and gave her a week to find new housing. Lucy didn't want to worry her friends about finding shelter, so she hasn't said anything to them and lied to the kind old lady about finding a house.

Honestly, Lucy was chalking up her pride and refusal to ask for help outside of missions to the fact that she has a stubborn independence streak in her. Her father's neglect forced her to learn how to take care of herself and not depend completely on anyone else. Running away didn't little to help ease the streak, only intensifying it, making it harder to break when she entered Fairy Tail after meeting a certain someone.

"Hey, Luce!"

Speak of the devil and the devil shall appear. Only in this case, a hotheaded dragon slayer.

The blonde turned her head to see Natsu and Happy coming towards her, hands waving madly in the air. The pink haired fire mage had a giant grin on his face, which threatened to spilt his face in half. _'That adorable idiot'_ thought Lucy as she waved back. She has long since admitted to herself that she loves the dragon slayer. It wasn't love at first sight- that was more of an admiration for his boldness and friendliness. Hell, she doesn't even know when she fell for him.

One day, as he was standing on the table and yelling across the guild at Gray to fight him, it suddenly hit her. She loves Natsu. At first, she denied it but that stupid little voice in her head just kept getting louder. She kept rolling that phrase around in her head and off the tip of her tongue as she lay in bed that night, startled by how natural it felt. It took about a week for her to come clean about to herself which was about a few months ago. But Lucy didn't bother to let Natsu or anyone else know- better keep the friendship and avoid the drama that may come about from nosy friends trying to be helpful.

A tan hand waving itself across her sight pulled the blonde from her thoughts. She nearly jumped as she realized how close Natsu was to her- their noses were almost touching and Lucy could smell the oddly comfortable mixture of smoke and mint that seemed to naturally radiant from him. "What's up, Natsu?"

"What's with all the bags?"

"I had to leave my place."

"Why? Did something happen?"

"Something came up concerning the apartment. That's all."

"Wanna stay with me and Happy?"

Well, if that didn't cut off Lucy's breathing than she didn't what did. Stay with Natsu? Always be around him, smell the natural smell of him that seemed to intensify when he sweat, see that rip body of his that she had dreams about…yeah, that wouldn't work out so well for her.

With a rather convincing smile is she did say so herself, Lucy lied smoothly, "Actually I'm staying with Levy." Something flashed across those black eyes but Lucy couldn't pin point it fast enough. Happy was tugging at her skirt now, and the female mage looked down at the little blue cat.

"Will you meet up with us after you get settled in?"

The blonde smiled and nodded. "Well, see you guys soon!" She started to jog, waving behind to the duo with a bright smile. After she turned the corner, her smile fell and she sighed. Well, looks like her pride losing to her lie. At least Levy's nickname was kindness…


	2. Chapter 2

**~Most Cherished Treasure~**

**Chapter 2**

Natsu was all bright fanged smiles when he walked into the guild. He just back from a well paying job and he got to keep all of the reward because he didn't destroy anything more than a few stray walls in the country! Humming, he plopped himself into an empty seat, but before he could open his mouth to call over one of the waitresses, he got a chest full of a speeding Happy. His cat partner stayed behind because Charlie was sick and he wanted to help Wendy nurse the female back to health. Natsu had to mentally snort- Charlie was such a tsundere.

"Natsu! I found out something concerning Lucy!"

And that then proceeded to take over his thoughts. Lucy- his teammate, friend, and mate. When he first saw her, he took an unnoticed double take. Hey, he was male and, dense as he may seem at times, could appreciate the female's stunning beauty. Curvy figure, large breasts, a great looking ass, an angel face…Lucy was the stuff of typical male fantasy. But after the Hargon incident, from the corner of his eye, he watched the laughing woman. And as they became closer and went on more adventures together, Natsu started to find himself falling for the Celestial mage. Lucy was clever, kind, caring, and a fun hell raiser.

"Natsu?"

The fire dragon slayer was brought out of his thoughts when a little blue paw softly smacked his cheek a couple of times. Giving a wide smile down at his companion sitting in his lap, Natsu said, "Sorry, Happy. Just thinkin' about some stuff. So what did you find out about Luce?"

"She got evicted from her apartment a month ago. Right before we met up with her."

"Wait, what?! Why?!"

Happy put a paw under his chin in a thoughtful position as he scrunched up his nose, indicating to Natsu that he was trying to remember something exactly like the way he heard it. "She kept being late with her rent and her former landlady has a family to take care of, so Lucy got the boot." Natsu did not pout as he ran through reasons why Lucy would have been late- she was the most responsible and reasonable out of the team. And their latest mission should have at least paid a month's worth of rent….Aw shit, the mission. He, Gray, and Erza ended up destroying half of the town, and everyone had to forego their part of the reward to pay for the damages.

It was their entire fault that she was evicted, and Natsu could feel guilt building up in his chest. Lucy was such a great friend, at least outside of Natsu's mind and fantasies, and she really did deserve better. And because of the eviction, the problem now had Levy in the mix and Natsu has seen Levy's apartment- it's not made for two people. Scratching his chin, Natsu tried to come up with solution that would make everyone happy.

"Natsu?"

The pink haired mage looked back down at his partner. "Yeah, Happy?" The blue cat pointed his finger at Natsu's nose, making sure he had his attention, before saying, "Let's convince Levy to let us move Lucy's stuff into our place."

"W-What?"

Happy shook his head. "Well, you love Lucy and she loves you. Yes she does, don't question it. So why not convince Levy- her best girlfriend- to let Lucy move in with us?" Natsu blinked a few times. And a few more times.

"Happy, you are a genius."

_~A Few Minutes Later~_

"Run that by me again, Natsu." Natsu took in a deep breath as he stood over Levy in a secluded corner of the guild. "I would like to move Lucy's stuff from your place to my place, please." The male could feel sweat lightly sliding down his neck as he waited for the petite female to answer him.

"Do you love Lucy?"

Oh thank gods this wasn't an actual parent-boyfriend confrontation, but, damn, it felt like it was.

"Yes."

"Do you promise to take care of her forever?"

"Yes. And if I hurt her, you will the first one to kick my ass."

Levy nodded, "Well, as long as we have everything cleared, then," the girl pulled a key on a lanyard out of her pocket and handed it to him, "here's my key. Please make sure everything is locked up after you go." Natsu smiled and grabbed the key, careful not to scratch Levy. He did not want to deal Gajeel right now.

"Thanks Levy!"

Now all that is left is to move and sit back with a serious hope that this plan didn't blow up in his face. Or kill him by the hands of a pissed off celestial mage with overprotective spirits.


End file.
